


one single thread of gold tied me to you

by percyyoulittleshit



Series: Intertwined [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28965495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyyoulittleshit/pseuds/percyyoulittleshit
Summary: Once upon a time Annabeth had told Percy that she didn’t want a ring until after she got her degree. Once her college graduation had come and gone and he hadn't proposed her mind had started to think of different dates; her birthday, their anniversary, the day they would move into their new apartment. Apparently, she had been wrong, oh so wrong.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: Intertwined [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/727080
Comments: 11
Kudos: 94





	one single thread of gold tied me to you

**Author's Note:**

> Time, wondrous time  
> Gave me the blues and then purple pink skies  
> And it's cool, baby, with me  
> And isn't it just so pretty to think  
> All along there was some  
> Invisible string  
> Tying you to me?  
> -Invisible String // Taylor Swift.

There was a period of days between the end of classes and the start of camp that Annabeth always found confusing. Back when she was a full-time camper it hadn’t mattered that much to her, she still had other activities to focus on at camp once the equivalent of school classes at camp were over. After she started proper education outside the magical barriers of camp she would sometimes arrive during those days to make preparations as a head counselor for the start of camp activities. But after high school ended and college started those days started to become confusing. She couldn’t stay extra days at the dorms of Cornell and there was no point in staying in an Airbnb in the city for a couple of days before making her way to Camp. But it also was weird going straight to camp. 

While in theory, she was still head counselor of Cabin Six and co-leader of camp with Percy, most of her siblings during those days were just barely teenagers and Annabeth knew she was outgrowing her cabin. Not only that, she knew this was the summer she was going to officially pass the head counselor title to someone else. For the first time in her life, Annabeth was not going to be at Camp during the start of the summer session, actually, she wasn’t going to be there during the summer session at all. In a few days she and Percy would drive back to New York where she would stay in her temporary and tiny Airbnb apartment and start working at Beyer Blinde Belle Architects & Planners. Not only that but in a couple of weeks she and Percy would move in together to their own apartment in the Flatiron district and their landlady would be the one and only Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who was giving them a joke of a price for rent. But even if she was currently in the in-between days at camp, this time didn’t feel as different as the previous years. She had been seeing some of the older campers around that she had grown with. Some of her favorite siblings, like Malcolm, had already been at camp when she and Percy had arrived yesterday night. Frank, Hazel, and Jason were arriving later the next day, and for Annabeth it felt like the last hurrah before leaving her childhood home for good. 

She could hear noises coming from the main floor of the cabin in her living quarters. After the war against Kronos, the number of campers had slowly started to grow and while the Athena cabin hadn’t gotten as many campers as other cabins, theirs had been one of the cabins renovated to fit more bunkbeds. And since Annabeth had been in charge of the plans, she had added a tiny loft to some of the cabins, including her own, overlooking the main floor of where the head counselor slept. Some of her siblings shouted their goodbyes to her before leaving their cabin to head towards the diving pavilion. Unlike them, once she finished getting ready Annabeth was going to take the opposite walkway towards the Big House where she was going to meet Piper, Percy, and Rachel to go out for dinner at some fancy Long Island restaurant. It had been Piper’s idea, she wanted to celebrate her friends graduating college and she had warned them to dress nicely or she would charmspeak them into accepting a full makeover from the Aphrodite cabin. She finished putting on mascara and used one of her shields as a mirror to take one last look. She was wearing a dark teal, flowy skort with a flower pattern, a white blouse, and her favorite brown boots. Mascara and eyeliner framed her eyes and her lips were tinted slightly red from one of the lipsticks Piper had brought back for her from her trip to South Korea. She nodded in approval at her reflection, grabbed a white cardigan and made her way towards the Big House.

The sun was starting to set behind her painting the sky a variety of pinks and oranges. For a moment she let herself think of what her twelve-year-old self would do if she could see her now, all dolled up on her way to go out with her friends and boyfriend to celebrate that she was done with college; not only that, she had graduated with honors and several job offers. Years ago the sirens had shown her younger self a different vision of her future, but Annabeth wouldn’t change her current life for anything in the world. It had cost her so much to reach this point but gods she was happy, she was loved, and she was making her dreams come true. 

She was so lost in her thoughts it took her a little bit to notice the fairy lights and lanterns decorating the pine, serviceberry, and maples trees illuminating her way to the Big House. She stopped in her tracks to observe the lights as the sun kept going down, the more lights she could see the faster her heart started to beat. She slowly resumed her walk but there were new thoughts starting to form in her head. Once upon a time she had told Percy that she didn’t want a ring until after she got her degree. Once graduation had come and gone and he hadn't proposed her mind had started to think of different dates; her birthday, their anniversary, the day they would move into their new apartment. Apparently she had been wrong, oh  _ so _ wrong. Part of her wanted to sprint the rest of the way to the Big House but instead, she forced herself to keep a steady pace and savor the moment. The closer she got to the Big House, the more lights she could see, this time accompanied by small jars filled with baby blue and white flowers. Her hands were starting to sweat and hope was growing in her heart. And just like that, she was a few feet away from the steps of the porch. 

She could see Percy standing at the top of the stairs. His hair was the usual black mess she loved to run her hands through. He was wearing dark jeans and her favorite dark blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his forearms. With the fairy lights and lanterns that decorated the porch poles and railings he was glowing like a gold vision. When her foot touched the first step of the porch he extended his hand towards her which she gladly took and closed the distance between them.

“Hi,” she said between nervous giggles. The area of the porch they were standing on was decorated with candles, flowers, and lanterns, and she knew there was only one reason Percy would do this. Looking at the breathtaking smile on his face she knew that they both knew what was about to happen.

“Hi,” he said back, the sound of his voice was raspy and his beautiful green eyes were misty. He cleared his throat and squeezed her hand three times. “Did you know the first time I ever saw you was on this porch? Exactly ten years ago today.” 

“Wha-”

“Yeah, I couldn’t remember the exact date but thankfully Chiron had it written down.” His voice was nervous, but she knew from the small laughs that snuck in-between him talking that it was his excited nervous voice, the one she heard so often when they had first started dating. 

When he didn’t say anything else she raised her eyebrows at him playfully. All those years ago her younger self had interrupted him when he was finding the words to confess his feelings to her, now she happily and excitedly waited for him to find his words. 

“I have spent months trying to find the right words to say to you at this moment, I created speech after speech in my head but it's hard to explain how much you mean to me, because you are my world, my everything and there is a spot in my back to prove that.”

“And matching grey streaks,” Annabeth added between tears. 

Percy laughed and ran his fingers through said grey streak in her hair. “Yeah, that too.” He licked his lips and continued, “Ten years ago I was lying on this porch confused and about to pass out but I can still clearly remember seeing you, the girl with the princess hair looking down at me and saying something, do you remember what you said?”

Annabeth took a deep breath, the words coming to her as if she had said them yesterday. “He’s the one, he must be.”

He gently wiped the tears that were falling from her eyes with his thumb, before resting his hand against her cheek. “You were talking about the prophecy but Annabeth,  _ you _ are the one for me, you have always been. Just like you have always been  my anchor, my light, my strength, my partner, my best friend.”

Annabeth leaned into his touch and kissed his wrist. Still holding her hand, he slowly went down on one knee. She had been so focused on looking at his bright eyes and that face she loved so much, she had missed how the hand that had been resting against her cheek a moment ago had now produced a small box from his pocket. He took her hand to his lips and then opened the box. 

A square teal stone, maybe an aquamarine, was framed on either side by tiny pearls. A bubble of emotion started to form in her throat and she found herself choking a laugh at the sight of the ring

“There aren’t words to explain how beautiful you are Annabeth, inside and out. You’re so beautiful, brilliant and smart and amazing and I don’t know what I did for you to love me, but I am the luckiest man alive because you do. You love me, you decided to be mine and I am yours, I have always been yours, even if I didn’t realize it at first.”

“I have always been yours too.” 

“Will you do me the honor of marrying me? Of becoming my wife and making me the happiest man alive and I promise you I will do everything in my power and more to make you as happy and loved as you make me feel.”

“ _ Yes! _ ” Annabeth yelled between sobs and laughter. “Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!”

Annabeth leaned down and kissed him over and over, she could hear their laughter mixing between kisses. At some point, Percy had managed to stand up without breaking their kiss. Her bubble of emotions had broken down and all she could was cry and laugh and kiss him.

“The ring,” Percy said between kisses. “I need to put the ring on your finger.”

Annabeth laughed and pulled away. “Right, yes, of course.”

She could feel his hands shake while he gently took her left hand and slid the ring on her finger. Annabeth barely had time to admire the ring before Percy pulled her close so he could kiss her again and again, sometimes breaking the kiss from how hard they were laughing. 

“So I’m assuming there was no dinner tonight?”

“There is, but not the one you were expecting.” Percy gently turned her and Annabeth finally noticed the small table on the other end of the porch, candles and roses decorating it. 

“Only the candles on the table are real by the way,” Percy said out of nowhere. “Apparently I can save Olympus twice before turning 18 but Chiron still doesn’t trust me with candles on a wooden porch.”

“I mean, with your luck can you blame him?” Annabeth snorted.

“Excuse me, I just got engaged to the love of my life, I think my luck is doing okay so far.” Percy pulled her close and kissed her. “Plus, I’m a son of Poseidon, it's not like I would have allowed the house to burn down.”

“You are an idiot.”

“Maybe, but I’m your idiot.” Percy was about to kiss her again but was interrupted by a voice coming from nearby bushes. 

“Stop kissing and show us the ring!” Annabeth heard Rachel’s voice first before she saw their friend appear from behind a tree, a professional camera in her hands.

“Yeah, we're the main reason Percy pulled this proposal off, let’s see the ring!” Piper said appearing from some of the bushes near the Big House.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Percy laughed. “There's no privacy here?”

“Nope! The lovebirds need to cool off!” Clarisse yelled next to Piper. Annabeth could see some of their old and new friends make their way towards them.

“Seriously again?” Annabeth laughed when their friends raised them over their heads and started making their way towards the lake.

“Sorry friend.” she could recognize Jason’s voice even if she couldn’t see him.

“We're just following orders,” Frank said somewhere near her. 

Percy was laughing next to her and Annabeth turned to face him, he was looking at her with the brightest smile on his face, one she knew was being reciprocated by her. He intertwined their hands, winked at her and Annabeth felt butterflies fly in her belly. Even though she knew what was about to happen she still heard herself scream when she was tossed into the lake. Her body never felt the cold shock of the water, instead, she was greeted by the warmth of the air bubble Percy had made for them, and just like seven years ago, Percy pulled them deep into the lake a nd it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic originally in 2016 and you can find posted here with the title "Back to the Beginning." I like to think I have grown as a writer and while my idea of the proposal is still the same, some aspects had changed, like how I was so sure Annabeth and Percy had first seen each other in the grass near Thalia's tree but actually it was on the porch of the Big House! I guess I need to reread the books! It's been almost nine years after all!
> 
> I choose Annabeth to work in Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners for two reasons, they not only designed Grand Central but also the Empire State, so in my mind, the company has demigods on it. Plus also they designed The Beacon Theater in NYC which is where I saw the Lightning Thief Musical during their NYC tour stop in March 2019.


End file.
